Self-locking coin box



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Nov. 21, 1967 Filed Dec. 50, 1965 United States Patent 3,353,743 1 SELF-LOCKING COIN BOX Ralph D. Amundsen, La Crosse, Wis., assignor to La Crosse Cooler Company, La Crosse, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed Dec. 30, 1965, Ser. No. 517,577 1 Claim. (Cl. 232-15) which normally closes the coin slot. For introduction of p the box into the compartment in which it is located for use, a detent must first be cocked to release the locking lever, the arrangement being such that as the coin box is pushed into position, the lockingileveris forced aside to open the coin-receiving slot of the box. This operation, 5,;

however, releases the detent so that when the box is withdrawn from the compartment, the locking lever automatically closes and is re-engaged by the detent so that the contents are secured against pilfering.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective showing in mutually separated positions a tray box and a coin-receiving compartment, portions of the latter being broken away.

FIG. 2 is a view in perspective showing the coin box locked in the compartment.

FIG. 3 is a view in perspective showing in mutually separated positions front and rear sections of the coin box.

FIG. 4 is a detail view in front perspective of the coin slot locking lever.

FIG. 5 is a detail view in perspective of the detent lever as viewed from the rear.

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic view in transverse vertical section through the coin box with its inner cover plate removed, and also showing in section the receiving compartment into which the coin box has been partially in troduced.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 showing the coin box in an advanced position in the receiving compartment.

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIGS. 6 and 7 showing the coin box fully introduced into, and locked in, the receiving compartment.

FIG. 9 is a view of the coin box partially in front elevation and partially broken away to a section which exposes the mechanism in its locked position.

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary detail view taken in section on the line ill-10 of FIG. 7 and materially enlarged, portions of the receiving compartment being broken away.

The box-receiving compartment 8 has a coin tube 10 opening through its top wall to register with the coin slot 2 of a coin box 14 when the box is in the compartment 8. The coin box 14 of the present exemplification comprises two hingedly and detachably connected parts, a rear section 14a and a front section 14b as separately illustrated in FIG. 3. The two sections are of tray-like construction, having side wall margins 15a and 15b respectively, these being formed for telescopic assembly as will be apparent from FIGS. 3 and 10. A locking lever 16 pivoted on any suitable pintle such as rivet 18 has an arm 20 which projects through slot 21 in the top of the box. An arcuate flange 22 projecting laterally from this lever is adapted in the position of the parts shown in FIGS. 3, 6 and 9, to close the coin-receiving slot 12. This protects the contents for transportation. In the retracted position of the lever 16 shown in FIG. 8, the flange 22 is withdrawn from the coin slot 12, leaving the slot open for the entry of coins from chute 10 into box 14. This is the position of the parts when the box is in a coin-operated machine to receive coins. A tension spring 24 biases the locking lever 16 toward the closed position of FIG. 9. The lever is normally locked in the closed position of FIG. 9 by engagement of the hook 28 of la-tch lever 30 over a shoulder 32 with which the locking lever 16 is provided. A tension spring 34 subjects the latch lever 30 to bias in a direction to engage its hook 28 with shoulder 32. Lever 30 is fulcrumed at 36. The springs 24 and 34 may respectively be connected to a floating anchorage 38 on a detent arm 42 which may be pivoted on the pintle 18. Welded to the detent lever 42 is a plate having a notch 44 adapted to engage and detain the pointed extremity 46 of the latch lever 30 for the purpose of holding the latch lever cocked in the retracted position in which is is shown in FIG. 6.

Adjacent the chute 10, a yoke or the like provides laterally spaced surfaces at and 47 in positions to be engaged by the beveled extremity of the finger 20 at the end of the locking lever 16.

When the latch lever 30 is cocked by engagement of its extremity 42 in the notch 44, the arm 20 of the locking lever 16 is partially inclined to the left as viewed in FIG.

6. Cocking is effected by inserting a screwdriver or the like into the slot 48 of latch lever 30, and using it to oscillate the detent lever counterclockwise from the advanced position of FIG. 9 to the cocked position of FIG. 6. The moving parts are covered by an inner plate 49 having an opening 50 which exposes slot 48 only when casing part 14B is opened by removal of seal 52 and hingedly swinging part 14B aside on its fingers 56 or wholly removing it as shown in FIG. 3. Normally, the seal 52 secures the flange 53 of easing section bracket 54 to the complementary flange 55 on casing section 14A.

FIG. 7 shows the coin box 14 partially inserted into the receiving compartment 8, the extremity of arm 20 being engaged with surface 45, whereby the lever 16 has been at least partially oscillated in a clockwise position from the cooked position of FIG. 9 toward the position of FIG. 8 in which the slot 12 is open to receive coins from chute 10.

In the course of its clockwise oscillation, the lever 16 will have its shoulder 32 engaged with the plate 40 to oscillate the detent lever 42 clockwise about pintle 18 for the release of latch lever 30. When the extremity 46 of the latch lever 30 clears the notch 44, the detent lever will be oscillated clockwise by its spring 34 and will bear against a cam surface 60 provided marginally on lever 16 below the shoulder 32 (FIGS. 7 and 8). The release of the latch lever from its cocked position leaves the locking lever 16 entirely free for counterclockwise oscillation except in so far as it is restrained by engagement of its arm 20 between the opposing surfaces 45 and 47. In the final position of the coin box with its coin slot 12 open as in FIG. 8 it is anchored to the receiving compartment in any appropriate manner, as by padlocking its bracket 54 to compartment 8 (FIG. 8).

When it is desired to deliver the coin box in locked condition to an appropriate accounting oflice, the padlock 62 is released and the coin box is simply withdrawn from the compartment 8. In the course of such withdrawal, the bias of spring 24 will oscillate the locking lever 16 in a counterclockwise direction, this movement being made positive by engagement of the arm 20 with surface 47 in the course of coin box withdrawal. By the time the arm 20 can pass beneath the surface 47, the slot 12 of the coin box will be closed by the flange 22 of the locking lever and, when this occurs, the latch lever book 28 becomes reengaged with shoulder 32 of the locking lever.

In this position of the parts, the slot cannot be opened except by manipulation of the latch lever 30 as above described.

I claim:

A portable coin box self-locking on removal of a receiving compartment into which the coin box may be inserted, said coin box comprising a container having mating sections having complementary portions together providing a coin admission slot, one section having a slot for the lock-lever-actuating finger hereinafter mentioned, the latter section having a wall portion and a partition spaced therefrom disposed in a plane in said slots, a lock lever disposed between said wall and partition and provided at an upper free end with the aforesaid actuating finger, a I

15 lever to its last mentioned position and for thereby reflange fixed to the lock lever near the finger and project ing across the partition to a position in which it is registrable with the coin admission slot, the lock lever being provided with a fulcrum upon which it is movable between a first slot-obstructing position and a second position in which the slot is open, the lock lever being provided at its lower end with a cam margin terminating in a shoulder, a latch lever disposed between the partition and the said wall and provided with a fulcrum and having an upper free end provided with a hook releasably engageable with said shoulder for holding the lock lever in said first position in which said flange obstructs the coin admission slot, means for biasing the lock lever and the latch lever toward the respective positions in which the hook is engaged with said shoulder, the latch lever having means to which the partition provides access for manipulation of 5 free end is precluded from engagement with said shoulder,

said detent comprising a third lever mounted between the partition and said wall and having a notch in which the hook at the end of the latch lever is releasably engageable, the shoulder of the lock lever being engageable with the detent lever to release the latch lever from the detent lever when the lock lever is displaced against its spring bias from its said slot-obstructing position, the said compartment having means engaged by the finger upon insertion of the coin box for the oscillation of the lock leasing the latch lever from its cocked position as aforesaid so that, upon return of the lock lever to a slot-obstructing position, the latch lever hook will engage the shoulder to obstruct the slot.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,121,063 12/1914- Beck 23215 25 2,109,864- 3/1938 Long 232-15 2,604,259 7/1952 Anderson 232l5 3,016,185 1/1962 Osborne 232-15 FRANCIS K. ZUGEL, Primary Examiner. 

